Paul Bonifas
Acting
Paul Bonifas (3 June 1902 – 9 November 1975) was a French actor, born in Paris. In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time. He left with the first prize for comedy, which allowed him to join the Odéon Theatre in 1933, then the Comédie-Française in 1938. He made his first film appearance in 1935 in a version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, directed by Pierre Chenal. During World War II he served as a lieutenant in the artillery, was badly wounded, and evacuated from Dunkirk with his unit. In London he joined the Free French, and worked for Radio Londres broadcasting to occupied France. In 1942 he appeared in the film The Foreman Went to France. In 1943 he formed "The Molière Players", who staged a repertoire of mainly Molière works in London theatres, as well as in regional towns and at French army barracks. He came to the Comedy Theatre, London with Théâtre Molierè in 1943 and 1944, performing in L'Anglais Tel Qu'on Le Parle, Le Malade Imaginaire, Gringoire, Le Misanthrope et L'Auvergnat, Les Femmes Savantes, Le Paquebot Tenacity, La Testament Du Pere Leleu and L'Extra. His Company included Andre Frere, Georges Rex, Suzette Marquis, Elma Soiron and Paul Clarus. In 1944 "The Molière Players" appeared in the short film Aventure malgache directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was written by, and based on the experiences of, Jules Francois Clermont, an actor in Bonifas' troupe working under the name of Paul Clarus, who had operated an illegal radio station Madagascar Libre in Madagascar while the island was under Vichy control. Bonifas then appeared in a number of other British films, including Two Fathers with Bernard Miles, directed by Anthony Asquith, and had minor roles in the musicals Heaven Is Round the Corner and Champagne Charlie, the action adventure film The Man from Morocco, the comedy-drama Johnny Frenchman and the horror film Dead of Night. Bonifas returned to France in 1946 and resumed his career in theatre, specializing in comedy, but also taking dramatic roles. His later film career included appearances in Trapeze (1956), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), Fanny (1961), Charade (1963), Greed in the Sun (1964), The Train (1964), Is Paris Burning? (1966), Triple Cross (1966), and The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1974). Bonifas died on 9 November 1975 at Vernouillet, Yvelines, France. Source: Article "Paul Bonifas" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
as le père de François Perrin
Age 72 (now 73)
Greed in the Sun
as Doctor Magnart, former professor in Lyon
Age 61 (now 73)
Dead of Night
as French Nightclub Patron (Segment "The Ventriloquist's Dummy") (Uncredited)
Age 43 (now 73)
The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
as le père de François Perrin
Age 72 (now 73)
Greed in the Sun
as Doctor Magnart, former professor in Lyon
Age 61 (now 73)
Blood on His Sword
as Le chirurgien / Doctor of Louis XI
Age 59 (now 73)
Love and the Frenchwoman
as Le père de Ginette (segment "La Virginité")
Age 58 (now 73)
Mademoiselle and Her Gang
as Marcel, owner of the hotel
Age 55 (now 73)
The Truth About Bebe Donge
as Traveler (uncredited)
Age 49 (now 73)
Juliette, or Key of Dreams
as Captain of the cargo ship
Age 48 (now 73)
Dead of Night
as French Nightclub Patron (Segment "The Ventriloquist's Dummy") (Uncredited)
Age 43 (now 73)
The Foreman Went to France
as Prefect of Rouville
Age 40 (now 73)
Les Dossiers de l'Agence O
as Le vieux Vick
Age 65 (now 73)
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Also Known As
The Molière Players, Henri Paul Bonifas, Paul Boniface, Victor Boniface, Bonifas, Bonifas de la Comédie Française
IMDB
nm0094585